Pilot lamp for automobiles



PILOT LAMP FOR AUTOMOBILES March 2 1926.

BLANTON Original Filed Dec. 1, 1925 Patented Mar. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE.

MITCHELL L. BLAN'ION, or DENVER, cononano, AssreNoia', BY DIRECT AND MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO r. J. ivtCezanne nut, or DENVER, COLORADO.

PILOT LAMP FOB AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed. December 1, 1923, Serial No, 678,064. Renewed January 2, 1926'.

T 0 all whomit may concern:

' Be it known that I, MITCHELL L. BLAN- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, the city and county of Denver, and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pilot Lamps for Automobiles; andI do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, ,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to pilot lamps for automobiles.

It is well known to those who have driven automobiles over strange roads at night that the ordinary stationary headlights are woefully inadequate. They may be perfectly satisfactory on a straight road, but they do not illuminate the roads on a turn, for the reason that they are rigidly attached to the automobile chassis and therefore do not point in the direction in which the front 1 end of the car is traveling, except on a straight road. In order to provide a source of illumination that shall overcome the objection, a large variety of dirigible headlights have been invented and patented. This type of lamp, although it does theoretically solve the problem of night driving, has several serious faults, due primarily to the fact that it is movable and connected by links or cables to the steering gear. The result of the many movable parts connected with the ordinary dirigible headlight is that the parts soon become loose and rattle in a highly objectionable manner. Spotlights mounted on the windshield frame or in the windshield itself and capable of universal movement, have been invented and are extensively employed, but these require manual operation at turns and critical parts of the road, which means that the driver will have his attention divided between driving and operating the spotlight at what is often the most dangerous parts of the road.

It is evident that if a light could be provided that would always point in the direction in which the front wheels are traveling and which at the same time shall have no movable parts, it will overcome the objections pointed out and: dirigibility of the light.

It is the ob ect of the present invention provide the desired to produce a new combination of elements,

by means of which it will be practicable to illuminate the road in the direction that the front wheels are traveling and to dispense with all movable parts. I

My invention can be best understood and described when reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which the present preferred embodiment of my invention is shown, and in which:

Fig; 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of an automobile with my improved lamp in place thereon; I

Fig. 2 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the front axle, the steering knuckle and a part of the hub of the front wheel, a part of this View being a section taken on line 22, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, the steering knuckle showing more clearly the manner in which the lamp is secured thereto.

The same reference characters will be employedto designate the same parts throughout the several views.

Numeral 1 represents the front axle of an automobile to which the steering knuckle or spindle body'2 is attached in the usual manner by means comprising the spindle bolt 3. The spindle body has a projection 1 on one side and an axle 5 on-the opposite side thereof. A spindle arm 6 has one end which passes through the hole in the projection 4 and is held in place by a nut 7. A bracket 8 is clamped between the front side of the projection l and the nut 7 and has the upper portion 9 bent at right angles to the body portion thereof. The front end of the part 9 is twisted so that it will be in a vertical plane, as indicated by numeral 10 in Fig. 2. The front end ofthe horizontal arm 9 of the'bracket 8 is perforated for the reception of the bolt 11, by means of which the lamp is secured in place thereon. usual manner with a reflector 12, lens 13 and lamp socket 14. The lampis secured to a tubular member 15, which has a downward ly projecting ear 16 through which bolt 11 extends. The electric conductors 17 ex- The lamp may be constructed in thetend to the instrument board or to a suitable switeh on, the; steering; post and is con; nected with the lighting system ofth'e automobile in such a manner that by closing a switch thelanip may be illuminated. The lamp is adjusted at the proper inclination in the vertical" plane and' clampedin the adjusted position by means otabolt 11,

F or the purpose of locking the" nut? against rotation I ,providea. thin, oblong washer 18 between the nut and the front side of the projection 4,;one end of. this Washer being bentdown along-the 's-ide of the Pro; jection as indicated. ;by;-jnume1'al 19, while the other end 20'is bentagainst the nut.

Having now described my invention, What I claim as new, is I I I .ln co'mbination'i with an automobile, a bracket having a plurality of arms, one arm being mounted behind the spindle arm nut, a locking" device between said arm and said nut; said'braeliet" having another arm extending at right angles to the first mentione'd a'rni" and having its end twisted through an. angle of ninety degrees, said end havingan opening" for" the reception of a bolt. H 1 I,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

madam- Ll. BL'ANTON; 

